


Urzara's Tooth

by ItsAlwaysBloodMagic



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age II
Genre: Epic Friendship, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Gen or Pre-Slash, Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-23
Updated: 2017-09-23
Packaged: 2019-01-04 06:13:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,856
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12163131
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ItsAlwaysBloodMagic/pseuds/ItsAlwaysBloodMagic
Summary: Hawke gives Varric a gift.





	Urzara's Tooth

**Author's Note:**

> The Act 3 "Herbalist's Tasks" quest involves harvesting a fire gland from a high dragon. When you give it to Solivitus, he makes you a pendant called Urzara's Tooth. According to the Codex, it's named after "a talisman carved from Urzara's mighty tooth", Urzara being a high dragon. How exactly does a fire gland become a dragon's tooth? A mystery for the ages.
> 
> One thing I love about Aggressive Hawke is just how gruff and straightforward he is. Here he is, looking at this item, thinking about what a great gift it would make. And we all know how great Hawke is at giving gifts.

The fight was as brutal as it was bloody. By the end of it Aveline had a deep slash through her armor, half of Varric’s doublet was singed, Hawke had a nasty looking burn covering his thigh and groin, and Anders was drawn and pale, recovering from two hours of switching between himself and Justice. The smell of burnt hair and skin filled the valley and a very large, very dead dragon lay in the middle of it. 

Anders downed two Lyrium potions in a row and then went from person to person, assessing their physical and mental state and doing his best to heal both. Taking a break, he glanced up in time to see Hawke hacking into the dragon’s sternum with an oversize dagger procured from Maker – knows where.

Anders rolled his eyes and smiled. Give the man a hammer… “Garrett, love, she’s already dead. See? Not breathing, no fire, no giant claws swiping back to knock you on your ass.”

“Need a fire gland” Hawke muttered, mostly to himself. He continued digging into the creature’s flesh, having discarded the dagger in favor of his entire hand and forearm.

“Well, you’re not going to find it in the dragon’s lungs. Look, their glands are here, where you would find a human tonsil.” Anders walked over and bent down to demonstrate how to locate the glands, gently prying the beast’s jaw open. 

Hawke, apparently, found this to be a finnicky and altogether inefficient approach. Instead of watching Anders, he shoved his hand upwards, tearing through the dragon’s gullet.

“For Andraste’s sake, back up, will you? The glands require care while extracting. You don’t want to damage them. Puncture one and you’ll end up with a third degree burn on your hand and nothing to show for it.” Anders gave Hawke his Stern Healer look. Hawke just grunted and shrugged his shoulders, pulled his arm out of the creature’s mangled chest cavity, and went to stand with Varric, who was leaning against a rock watching the scene play out.

Anders pulled a scalpel and an empty pouch out from a satchel containing emergency surgery supplies. He had steady hands and plenty of experience with procedures such as these, although he would admit that operating on a child with chronic tonsillitis was a bit different than extracting a fire gland from a dragon. He did a decent job of it anyway, cutting cleanly around the gland without puncturing the thing.

There was one catch, quite literally. Apparently dragons have a muscle attaching the fire gland to the rearmost upper tooth. Anders’ scalpel simply wasn’t large enough to slice through the muscle without risking the gland. He thought about it for a while, then pulled out a pair of small pliers, using the scalpel and the pliers to remove the tooth and the gland from the mouth together. Solivitus could figure the rest out himself. 

Anders dropped the gland and tooth carefully into the pouch and tucked the pouch away in the larger satchel, careful to place it so the items wouldn’t get crushed on the walk back to Kirkwall. He cleaned off his supplies in a rudimentary fashion and prayed to the Maker that he wouldn’t need to perform any field surgery between here and his clinic. He just didn’t have the mana left to sterilize anything.

*****

Hawke jogged up to Solivitus, the pouch in his hand. Fenris, Isabela, and Merril trailed behind. “Here” he pronounced gruffly, shoving it into Solivitus’ unsuspecting hands. “We discussed ten sovereigns.”

Fenris sighed, shaking his head and stepping around Hawke. “I’m sure you have already noticed, but Hawke is not particularly practiced with words. What he means to say is that we have procured a dragon’s fire gland as you requested.”

Solivitus didn’t seem to notice Hawke’s lack of communication skills. His eyes widened in momentary surprise. “Well, you certainly are efficient” he said, handling the pouch with care. “However did you get ahold of it?”

“Killed a dragon.”

Isabela laughed, draping an arm around Hawke. “Oh I don’t know, he’s got such a knack for storytelling. Enlighten us all. What is it like to fight a dragon?”

Fenris watched Hawke’s eyes light up with passion. “Incredible.” There was wonder in his voice.

“I heard it was a high dragon” Merril piped up. “Not even my Clan’s hunters will face those down. We pack up and move if we find we have settled near a high dragon’s flight path.”

Solivitus tucked the pouch into a box behind his merchant’s stand. “Incredible indeed. You deserve more than the arranged sum. I may be able to make something out of this. Come back in a few days.” 

“Our thanks, then, good sir. We shall take our leave.” Fenris need not have said anything. Hawke was already walking a few paces ahead, having accomplished what he set out to. Fenris hung back with Isabela and Merril, listening to Isabela explain the finer points of something lewd, patiently answering all of the elf’s innocent – seeming questions. Fenris believed it to be an act, but Isabela absolutely ate it up.

“But why would you give him a tour of your lower decks? Do people get less seasick down there?”

A sigh from Isabela. “Oh, kitten. You’ll get it eventually.”

*****

Solivitus was surprised to find a dragon's tooth tucked into the pouch alongside the fire gland. The pouch itself was an ingenious thing, with a thick leather divider built in that kept the tooth from tearing into the gland. He shook the items out onto his workbench and carefully neutralized the gland in acid before making a single cut and squeezing out a substantial amount of something liquid and hot, then added substrate to the fluid and left it to macerate. This done, he turned his attention to the dragon’s tooth. Cleaning it was a simple operation. He dropped the tooth into a tiny box filled with maggots. By morning it would be shining, not a trace of flesh left on it.

He followed the Qunari tradition, splitting the tooth down the middle to craft two identical pendants. These would bolster health in battle and provide fire resistance. They would also make a good gift, if Solivitus understood the custom correctly. Hawke did not seem the sentimental type, but Qunari shared the pendants with trusted comrades, and Hawke certainly had plenty of those.

*****

Fenris gazed down at the pendants. “Interesting” he remarked.

Merrill peered over his shoulder. “What’s interesting? Oh, those are quite pretty.”

“It is a Qunari custom, not practiced often in this age. I… knew someone, once, who wore one.”

“They’re good.” That would be Hawke. “But why two?”

“You are to give one to a… companion. Loved one. Perhaps somebody you trust in battle. The original meaning is muddled, to be quite honest. The Qun allows it, to honor the practicality of fighting alongside a particular person, of knowing your battle partner like they are your own skin. It’s given when a comrade is to be stationed somewhere far away, a promise that you will stand on the battlefields together again.” Fenris did not dwell on the Fog Warrior who had worn one. For that man it meant something different, an acknowledgement of love. Fog Warriors did not follow the Qun. It was of no significance now. The man was dead.

Hawke studied the objects for a long moment, then he said simply, “I know who I will give it to.”

The Mage. Hawke was so single – minded about Anders, his mind clouded with lust. He couldn’t see the man as the rest of them saw him. An abomination, descending into madness, heading toward a dark and, Fenris could only hope, violent end. Everything about him made Fenris shudder. 

Hawke looked brightly around at them, indifferent or oblivious to Fenris’ body language. “Shall we head out?” 

Fenris scowled in response, then followed. He would follow Hawke to the end of Thaedas and back.

*****

“Got something for you.” 

Varric glanced up and found Hawke standing over him, shifting from foot to foot and clutching something in his hands.

Hawke had interrupted a particularly heated game of Diamondback, but Varric didn’t mind. Varric was letting Blondie win this round, although Isabela was doing her best to thwart his plans. Cheating for fun, of course. For some reason Aveline was letting her get away with it. Anders wasn’t catching on, even though Merril oohed and aahed every time Isabela managed to win a round using less than honorable methods.

“A gift? For me? How thoughtful of you, Hawke. I couldn’t possibly accept without first buying you a drink. Why don’t you join us?” Varric gestured grandly to the open chair immediately to his left.

Hawke hastily set the object down on the table in front of Varric, narrowly missing a puddle of warm beer. “Take it.” It came out as a command, although Varric knew Hawke didn’t mean it that way.

It was a… necklace. Varric picked it up and turned it over in his palm. “Is this from the dragon we killed at the Bone Pit?” He whistled low. It was beautiful.

“We Dalish have something similar, only it isn’t a dragon’s tooth, it’s a ring made out of halla horn. A hunter will give it to his betrothed after he makes his first kill.” Merril looked quizzically at Hawke from across the table. “Are you going to marry Varric then?”

Aveline was sitting to his right. She leaned over his shoulder and studied the pendant. “Well done, Hawke. Strong, dependable, damn near unbreakable. A fitting metaphor for you and Varric. I see it’s been split in half. I assume you are wearing the other half, then.”

Isabela rolled her eyes. “Copper marigolds all over again, is it? I swear on Andraste’s pyre, if I have to run interference for you…”

Hawke coughed. He was turning red, and his gaze was turned downwards toward the table. “It’s nothing like that. I just… really care about Varric.” He raised his eyes, meeting Varric’s. Varric got the idea that the pendant meant a lot to Hawke. He smiled to put the man at ease. Hawke wasn’t great at showing affection, and while he showered his friends with gifts, he didn’t really have a sense of how to go about picking something out that a person would actually enjoy. This, though, was thoughtful.

“Aww, Hawke, you shouldn’t have.”

“Shouldn’t have? I – I thought…” Hawke’s face dropped and confusion set in. Oh no. The man could be so literal sometimes.

“Aw, buddy, it’s like saying thank you. I love it. Truly. And I really care about you too.” He put the pendant on, and then clutched it to his chest to make a point. The thing was huge. It covered up the majority of Varric’s chest hair. Impractical, but he supposed he would be willing to suffer for the sake of friendship.

Hawke smiled then, softly, to himself. He sat down next to Varric, their sides pressed companionably together in the close quarters created by too many people sitting at one table. Varric dealt him in, and the game continued.


End file.
